Themes in American History

Barnum’s American Museum was located at the corner of Broadway and Ann Street in New York, from 1841 to 1865. The museum was mysteriously burnt at that time and the Lost museum was recreated to have people in modern time to visit and experience culture in the 19th century through website.  The museum offered both strange, and educational attractions.

Barnum opened his museum  to create a place where families could go for wholesome, affordable entertainment, but his success drew from the fact that he knew how to entice an audience. At its peak, the museum was open fifteen hours a day and had as many as 15,000 visitors a day. The museum was a spectacular place for people coming to enjoy it in 19th century.  People came to this place with their families and socialize with other people.  The cultural history of New York was people gathered in one place and watch other people’s show and share their opinions with each other while they were exploring the museum.

In my opinion, the strength about the website as a historical tool like Lost museum is that it helps people to experience and have more understanding about the historical facts that were really exist and greatly affected people but been destroyed. The weakness was it was mimicking the historical event, the accuracy would be affected.

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While journeying through the Barnum Museum I was intrigued with the many artifacts, newspaper clips and portraits to view and research.  It seems that entertainment in 19th century NYC revolved around looking at people and things that were not the “norm”.  There was a widespread of curiosity towards the ideas of mermaids, over weight people, “albinoes” and things of that sort.  Culturally the museum seems a bit biased in that there is nothing promoting a positive image of any race apart from whites.  It was interesting to find a newspaper article dated February 27, 1849 in the New York Tribune giving permission to allow only a special class of “colored people” into the museum.  However they were only allotted a certain time frame and date for which they were allowed admittance.  The museum was informative in giving information about one aspect of entertainment in NYC history.  It was a bit difficult to navigate through the virtual museum and i found the “archive” tool extremely helpful in finding information.  

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The Barnum museum shows that the entertainment in 19^th century NYC is pretty rich. When I visited the museum, I was impressed by different performers, lecturers, and curiosities. One surprised thing I found is that these performers, lecturers, and curiosities demonstrated various skills and crafts, as well as new technological devices. A continual stream of changing exhibitions ranging from talking machines, panoramas of Niagara Falls, Paris and Peru, ivory carvers, glassblowers, sewing machine operators, and musicians. So I think the entertainment in 19^th century NYC is combined with new technology and new studies. It is not only just entertainment for enjoy people, but also gave new knowledge to people. And this knowledge still affect people live today. In the second floor, I saw an exhibition called The mechanism of human facial expressions which was contributed by French neurologist Duchenne de Boulogne. He combined his intimate knowledge of facial anatomy with his skill in photography and expertise in using electricity to stimulate individual facial muscles to produce a fascinating interpretation of the ways in which the human face portrays emotions. Until today the plates from Mechanism are highly valued as landmarks of photographic history and art.

America was a new and culturally emerging nation. Some amusements as we know them today did not exist at 19^th century. The concept of public entertainment was perceived as questionable and even considered inappropriate as Americans aspired to the highest standards of moral and civil behavior. The opening of the Barnum Museum challenged this popular social ideology. The Museum became a place for family entertainment, enlightenment and instructive amusement. It became a shrine for advancing public knowledge of fine arts, music, literature and the marvels of nature, showcasing natural curiosities alongside artistic and historic exhibitions. It played an important role in cultural history of NYC and even the U.S.

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After taking a short virtual visit to the P.T.Barnum Museum, I understood why it used to be the most visited place of entertainment in New York. I imagined myself walking down the hall of a lost museum, learning more about the history of the US. Such an amazing cultural experience took me back to New York in 19th century.

The museum’s mysterious spirit is attributed to the cultural development of New York. As the population of the city grew, there were more distinct differences between social classes – upper class, working class, and poor. Merchants and artisans, doctors and lawyers represented a fundamental surface of a common society. These people were interested not only in how to make money, but also how to spend them right. That is why museums and theaters were the most popular places of entertainment and amusement. I believe that Barnum museum is a great example of a cultural progression in urban society.It has its own mysterious style that cannot leave a visitor unsatisfied.

The museum itself is represented as a key to scientific knowledge and social amusement with its own mysterious signature. Among the exhibits we can find the waxworks of legendary people, such as Chang and Eng Bunker, conjoined twins; Miss Annie Swan, the tallest lady living in the 19th century; the finest picture gallery; the skeletons of unusual creatures, amusement devises, valuable documents on slavery, civil war, immigration, politics, and so many other interesting aspects of history.

There were a few posters on the wall of the Waxworks room, which is located on the second floor of our museum, that grabbed my attention. The first one, was the message with information about the play, “Our American Cousin”, which had been presented to the audience at Ford’s Theater in Washington D.C on April 14 1865. This play had soon become known for the assassination of the president Abraham Lincoln. This historical note in memory of the president Abraham Lincoln demonstrated devotion to his political achievements.

The other poster was issued by the War Department, promising a large monetary reward for a person who could find the president’s assassin. John Wilkes Booth was the name of the killer, who stepped into the President’s box at Ford’s Theater and fired a deadly shot. He became the most wanted criminal of the North in 19th century. It looks to me that P.T. Barnum was a supporter and admirer of president Lincoln, and wanted to capture such historical momentum in his museum, so one day each of us would be able to experience all of it.

Image: www. Lost Museum.cuny.edu / Second Floor / the Waxworks room

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